Celebrity. Everyone wants to be one, even if it's just for a little bit. And with the Internet, everyone is practically a mini-celebrity in their own right. So when you offer little girls Php 100,000 and a chance ot be Myx Celebrity VJ, get ready to watch a deluge of singing 12 year old girls in front of their webcams.This was what happened in Skinwhite Teens 'Search for the Next Sam' campaign. Targetting girls aged 9-14 years old who happen to love to sing or at least have the guts to belt out a tune, these girls were tasked to record themselves singing (or lipsynching) the Skinwhite theme song, "Start Right, Start White" and to upload their videos to www.brandnewme.ph
Knowing these girls are online all the time (on Facebook, Twitter or just surfing the web), it wasn't surprising that the campaign received over 150 videos ranging from the simple girl in front of a webcam, to the more production heavy ones (where you would find amazing editing and change of location!).
And who knew there were so many ways to use the Skinwhite Teens bottle in the video?! There were those that simply had the bottle in the same shot, but then there was the Skinwhite bottle-as-a-microphone or shots of girls applying lotion to their arms in between verses. Leave it to the girls to get creative!
Though there was an on-ground audition, the online auditions were still beneficial to those from farflung provinces in Mindanao like Surigao and up north to the Cagayan Valley! Those who couldn't audition in real life made up for it with their sweeping locations (imagine a litle girl singing in a rice field) and multiple costume changes.
The target market's affinity with online social networks helped the girls in promoting their videos too. On Skinwhite Teens' Facebook Like Page, one would find links to their videos asking people to watch and 'like' their entries. The result? Over 25,000+ likes on the girls videos.
From the many entries, four winners were selected including one grand winner Gabriella Louise Lopez who just got herself a sting on Myx and is not Php 100,00 richer. Watch out, this 12 year old girl may be a household name soon.
